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Using drones for your business? Make insurance your co-pilot

By Axis Marketing

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones, can be used in a wide variety of ways for both personal and commercial use.

 As they grow in popularity, many businesses and individuals alike have turned to drones to access opportunities that were never possible before.

Some industries include:

  • Ordered goods – Although not yet realized, Amazon is often in the news with a new method of package delivery.
  • Building inspection  Proper building maintenance means doing regular, visual inspections of the exterior. Using a drone is quicker, safer, and costs a fraction of the price of a manual inspection. 
  • Photography and Videography – Filming and photography for real estate, environmental surveillance, film and television, and more.
  • Agriculture – Farmers and ranchers can use drones to monitor crop growth, track herds, and track irrigation demands over large amounts of land.
  • Search & Rescue – Emergency Responders can be used to locate missing people, track and monitor surroundings, and can access dangerous locations.
  • Mining – Given the typical image of mining as a prospector panning for gold, or giant machines boring through rock, it might seem a little counterintuitive at first. But after closer examination, it isn’t hard to see how drones are already creating efficiencies in that industry. It all comes down to which sensors are used. 

Transport Canada Regulations

Transport Canada has particular rules and regulations regarding flying unmanned aircraft. For example, you cannot fly higher than 90 metres and cannot fly within 9 km of an airport or aerodome. If your drone weighs 1kg or more, you will need to apply for a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) before you can use it. Drones which weigh between 2.1kg and 25kg might not require a Special Flight Operations Certificate if official exemptions are met. These exemptions include, but are not limited to, such things as the age of operator, time of day, keeping your aircraft/drone in direct line of sight and many others.

Transport Canada requires adequate liability insurance, regardless of the size of the drone. Transport Canada also advises a person or company must have at least $100,000 liability coverage. Since Transport Canada requires liability insurance for drone usage, flying without coverage could mean fines or penalties. Using a drone in an unsafe manner could result in local police being called in to determine if laws were broken, including privacy laws and the criminal code.

Why Do you Need Coverage?

  1. Accidents can be expensive. Purchase insurance to cover the theft or damage to the drone and any ground equipment used to operate it, or any electronics or components (payload) carried.
  2. To protect your business from third-party liability. This includes  property damage and bodily injury caused by the drone, premises liability at locations used in connection with scheduled aircraft, as well as medical expenses.
  3. Again, mishaps are EXPENSIVE.  Additional coverage extensions can help, which may include malicious damage, system hacking, and personal injury.

Now that you’ve made the responsible decision to cover your drone, it’s time to apply. We provide drone insurance through our partners at Drone Insurance Depot. It only takes 5 minutes to get your free, no obligation quote!

Tags: Drone

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